The Praetorian

by Dawn L. Chiletz

  He pushes up from the bed and stands, hands flying into his hair. “It was my fault. All of it.”

  Jumping up, I rush over to him and grab his arms. “You were just a kid. It was a freak accident. It wasn’t your fault.”

  “My parents knew. Everyone knew what I’d done. They had cameras by the pool for security. They watched the video. They heard what I said to him. They watched me stand there and let him drown.”

  I pull him toward me and hold him in my arms. I squeeze him until I can’t pull him any closer. He pushes me lightly away and gazes down into my eyes.

  “I’m not a good person, Reed. You need to know that.”

  I shake my head. “That’s not true. You’re amazing. I’ve watched you from the second I arrived. You have a hard shell, but damn if you aren’t soft and gooey in the center.”

  He huffs out a small smile and looks at the door.

  “What?”

  “I want to tell you who Natalie is, but I think it’d better to show you. I need to warn you though, we haven’t gotten to the part where you’ll really want to run.”

  My skin pricks like pins and needles at his words. “Why don’t you let me make that decision for myself?”

  He walks me to his bedroom door. Pausing, he presses his lips to mine. He’s really worried I’m going to leave him over this. I’m starting to worry he might be right.

  Her arm is snaked through mine and I can feel her eyes burning into me as I turn the key in the door. Part of me wants to stop and tell her to forget it and the other part of me desperately needs her to know.

  Natalie stands the minute I open the door. She smiles brightly at me, then it fades when she notices Reed behind me. She gazes from me to Reed and back again, trying to understand.

  As soon as she steps into the room, she’ll know my secret. I cautiously watch Reed’s face. The first thing she sees is Natalie, then the bed, the monitors, and then him. His eyes are open, but I don’t know what he sees or if he sees anything at all.

  Her mouth gapes as she glares up at me. I close the door. “Reed, I’d like you to meet Natalie and this… this is my brother, Deacon Creed.”

  I take her hand and we walk to the bed. Natalie steps out of the way.

  Deacon’s head turns slightly. He smiles and moans lightly when he sees me. “Hey, buddy. I brought someone to meet you.” I turn to Reed as she steps forward.

  “Hi Deacon.”

  His eyes roll back and his hands arch.

  “I think he’s saying hi. I’m also pretty certain he thinks you’re beautiful.” I try to gauge what she’s thinking, but I can’t read her.

  “Natalie is Deacon’s full-time live-in nurse. Usually I have at least a couple of nurses, but we’ve been having trouble finding anyone half as good as Natalie to care for him. She’s mostly cooped up here all day by herself. I try to relieve her as much as possible, so she can have some personal time, but this game has made it more difficult. She’s really been a trooper.”

  Natalie sticks out a hand, and Reed shakes it. “It’s nice to meet you. I apologize for my initial reaction when I saw you. Roman never brings anyone here. Oh, was that okay to say?” she asks me.

  I smile. “It’s fine.”

  “I thought you were his secret girlfriend,” Reed blurts out.

  Natalie laughs. “Oh, gosh no. One Creed boyfriend is all I can handle,” she says as she adjusts Deacon’s pillow.

  “Nat, would you mind giving me a few minutes alone with Deacon and Reed?” I ask.

  “Of course.” She steps into her attached bedroom and closes the door.

  “The way you made it sound, I didn’t think he—”

  “Made it?” I interject.

  She nods, turning to gaze at Deacon.

  “He did, and he didn’t. He had a traumatic brain injury. They call it massive axial force with facet dislocation of the cervical vertebrae. He was mostly paralyzed from the neck down. But after therapy and a couple of surgeries, sometimes he moves his hands or arms. That took years of physical therapy.”

  I sit on Deacon’s bed and he turns his head toward me. He smiles, and I take his hand in mine.

  Her eyes are on me. She’s still here—that’s a good sign. “My parents were devastated. Deacon was in a coma for almost a year. The doctors couldn’t believe he survived. But I could. He’s strong and brave. He never gave up before he got hurt, so why would he give up after? When Deacon opened his eyes, my parents thought their prayers had been answered, but after years of therapy that brought very little change, they just gave up.”

  Deacon drifts to sleep and I let go of his hand. I lead Reed to a couch off to the side of the room.

  “He was the bragging child. For a while, the sympathy poured in and they used it, turned it into a way to show what amazing parents they were. They hired a full-time staff for him and after a while, people stopped asking and caring, so they moved on. They’d visit with him from time to time, but the visits got shorter and less frequent. Right before my eighteenth birthday, my mom caught my father having an affair and she filed for divorce. During the legal battle, they fought over who would take Deacon. Not who would get him, who had to take him.”

  That memory makes my blood boil. I gaze over to Reed and she’s staring at me. I wish I knew what she was thinking. I’m guessing she’s still trying to process the enormity of what I did to him. I take a deep breath. I’ve come this far, I need to tell her everything.

  “During the divorce they decided to put Deacon in a home. I begged them to reconsider. I told them I’d give up my band and my car. I’d quit school and stay home full time to care for him. They refused. So I took matters into my own hands. When I turned eighteen, I filed for custody of him. I took the money in my trust fund and spent it all on lawyers and home care. After I graduated, I worked odd jobs during the day and played gigs as much as I could to make ends meet. I was lucky to get discovered when I did. I was literally on my last few dollars.”

  She takes hold of my hands. I stare down at them as she laces her fingers into mine. “You’re still here,” I say in disbelief.

  “Where else would I be?” she asks.

  “Out the door and down the drive?” I stare at Deacon. “Look what I’ve done.” My voice shakes and I immediately clear my throat to cover it.

  She kneels in front of me, sliding between my legs. “Yes, look what you’ve done for your brother. He’s lucky to have you. I’m lucky to have you.”

  I shake my head. “Maybe you didn’t hear me. I’m the reason he’s like this. I took away his life, his future. I ruined everything.”

  “No, you gave him everything. He made the choice to jump in the pool. You didn’t push him in. He did it himself. And yes, something terrible happened, but you were just a little boy.”

  “I goaded him into it.”

  She makes sure I look in her eyes. “If I told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?”

  “I might do anything you asked me to.”

  “No, you wouldn’t, because it would be silly and if you did, it wouldn’t be because I told you too but because you wanted to. Deacon wanted to jump in the pool. Did you want him to get hurt?”

  “Of course not. I looked up to him. I still do. He was always everything I never thought I could be.”

  She grabs a hold of my face and kisses me.

  I pull away slowly. “Reed, you need to know he will always come first. I will always take care of him. It’s my burden, no one else’s. If you can’t handle that, I understand.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. Why would you think this would change things for me? If anything, it makes me want you even more.”

  “But… what I did?”

  “You mean loving your brother and putting him first? Yeah, what about it?”

  Is she not hearing me? Why is she saying these things? Why hasn’t she left me?

  She tugs on my arms. “I want to know who did this to you. Who made you feel like you were less than the angel you are? Who ma
de you think taking care of your brother was a bad thing? I want to know so I can kick their ass.”

  I roll my neck and smile, genuinely. “I don’t think I’ve had a girl want to kick someone’s ass for me, yet you’ve offered twice in less than twenty-four hours.”

  “Did you really think this would bother me?”

  “Yes, and that’s why no one knows—no one other than my staff and they’ve signed confidentiality agreements. You can’t tell anyone. You have to promise me.”

  “Of course! I’ll do anything you want, if it will make you feel better.”

  I smirk. “Anything?”

  “Get your mind out of the gutter, Creed,” she says. She crawls into my lap, throwing her arms around my neck. Is it possible she could be okay with this? With me? This woman might change my life.

  I made it back to the room before Tori woke up and jumped in the shower. I ruffled my blankets before going downstairs for breakfast. Cedric is sitting at the table, reading the paper when I arrive.

  He glances up at me from the tops of his eyes and then turns his wrist to check his watch. “You’re up early.”

  “Never slept,” I tell him. “I was too wired.”

  “You never told me what you found upstairs.”

  Think Reed, think. “I found a bunch of locked doors and an angry security guard, who promptly confiscated the lost keys I found.”

  “So nothing then?”

  “Nope. Guess it’s still a mystery,” I say with a shrug.

  He shuffles the paper and turns the page all while glaring at me. Shit. He’s not buying it.

  “How’d you sleep?” I ask.

  “Actually, pretty well. I was tired after listening to Tori talk about last night. She followed me to my room. She was really high-strung.”

  “Yeah, I’ve never heard her be such a chatterbox.”

  “I think it’s the most she’s ever said to me, but people babble when they’re nervous or hiding something.”

  I pour coffee. “Which one was she?”

  “Hard to say. I don’t know her well enough.” He folds the paper. “I sure hope we have a challenge today. I don’t like sitting around. I wonder if Roman is home yet?”

  Taking a sip of my coffee, I decide to give him that at least. “After you all went upstairs, I went to the kitchen for a drink and dozed off at the counter. I can sleep almost anywhere it seems. Anyway, I heard the front door slam and saw Roman’s guard. He said he was home, exhausted and sore.”

  “Wow. Good to know. I’m glad he’s all right. That was some crazy stuff last night. We never did get to find out what was really supposed to happen.”

  Pulling out the chair and sitting next to him, I realize I hadn’t thought to ask him that. “You’re right. I wonder who it was.”

  “I hope they tell us,” Cedric adds. “I don’t like not knowing things.”

  He stares into my eyes as he says the words. All I can do is nod. I will never tell a soul what Roman shared with me, game or no game.

  I’m surprised when we’re all summoned to the forum after breakfast. I have no idea what’s happening, but I’m thankful for my immunity.

  Esto hops down off the stage. Everything has been reset. All the pageantry is gone. It’s just the normal forum and throne. I wonder if Roman will make an appearance.

  “Hi, and thanks for being so flexible today. Roman is feeling better and wants to continue so we’re going to do the results.”

  Logan’s hand shoots into the air and Esto motions to him.

  “How can there be results? We never discovered who was out to get Roman and we didn’t have a chance to complete the challenge.”

  “I can see how you’d think that would deter us, but we gathered a lot of information last night and even into this morning. I’m going to let Jean Paul explain once we begin filming. I’m going to need you all to sit tight while we get some last-minute things together. Feel free to move about the room. We only ask that no one leave the forum. It shouldn’t be longer than an hour.”

  “An hour?” Raul asks. “Can we leave to use the bathroom?”

  “Uh… if you need to use the bathroom, let Bryce know and we’ll figure something out. Thanks for your patience.”

  “What’s with all the secrecy?” Raul whispers to me. I shrug.

  The doors to the forum close and a guard stands there. “What the hell?” I ask, gesturing toward him. Bryce walks over to him and they start talking.

  Cedric, Raul and I look at each other.

  “What do you think is going on?” Logan asks. He and Tori come closer to our tables. Kari gets out of her chair and sits on the edge of the table to get even closer.

  “Maybe Reed knows something,” Tori says, crossing her arms. “You never came to bed last night.”

  All eyes turn to me. “Sure, I did. You were already asleep when I came in. Like I told Cedric, after you all went to bed last night, I couldn’t sleep so I went to the kitchen to make hot chocolate and I ended up dozing off at the counter. I must have been out for a while.”

  “She heard Creed come home,” Cedric adds.

  “Really? What time was that?” Tori asks, raising her eyebrows.

  “I don’t know. I was really out of it.”

  “I guess we could ask Bryce or Esto when he returned. Then we’d know what time you supposedly woke up from your kitchen counter snooze fest.”

  “What’s your problem?” I ask her.

  “Yeah, why are you giving her such a hard time?” Kari asks.

  “I didn’t fall asleep until after three and you still weren’t back.”

  “So?” Kari asks. “She just told you she fell asleep in the kitchen.”

  “Yeah, what’s the big fucking deal?” Raul asks.

  Tori scowls at Raul. “I just find it hard to believe Reed slept for three hours hunched over the kitchen counter.”

  “Where else would she be?” Logan asks protectively. “Snuggled up in Roman’s room?”

  Everyone laughs, and I snicker, trying not to show my shock at his insightfulness.

  “I’m only saying her story doesn’t add up,” Tori replies, glancing at her nails.

  “You should talk,” Kari says as she crosses her arms.

  Raul links his hands behind his head. “What do you mean?”

  Kari rolls her eyes. “Nothing.”

  Glancing at Logan, I can see by his expression he knows exactly what she means.

  “If you’ve got something to say Kari, tell us,” I say, leaning forward.

  Kari glances from me to Tori and then back at Logan. He gives her a slight shrug. She sighs and then speaks, like she has no other choice. “You told Reed the night of the fire pit that you spent the night in my room, but you most certainly did not.”

  I glare at Tori, whose eyes narrow at Kari. “You don’t remember because you had too much to drink.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “You were pretty out of it,” Raul adds.

  “No, she wasn’t,” Logan says, defending her.

  “How do you know? You left an hour before she did,” Tori huffs.

  Logan glances at Kari uncomfortably.

  “What do you know?” I ask, pointing back and forth at them.

  Logan huffs. “Fine, Kari might have had a little too much. I heard her puking when I walked by her room, so I stayed the night to make sure she was okay. And Tori, you never once even poked your head in the room. If you had, you would have seen me sleeping in Naya’s bed.”

  “Hoo, hoo, hoo!” Raul laughs. “Now this is some juicy shit. I wonder if you slept in Naya’s bed or Kari’s.”

  Logan scowls. “Shut the fuck up, Raul. From what Akio told me, there was a night you didn’t sleep in your room either.”

  All eyes glare at Raul. “That’s bullshit. Of course I did.”

  “That’s convenient for you to say, now that Akio’s not here to confirm it,” Kari says with a smirk.

  “Guess you’ll have to wait for the show air to see i
t with your own eyes.”

  Cedric sighs loudly and dryly asks, “Am I the only one who sleeps in my own room?”

  “So where were you, Tori?” I ask, turning to face her.

  “Maybe no one is remembering things correctly. I think we’re all on edge because of what happened last night. I can’t believe he almost died.” Tori places her hand over her heart.

  I can tell no one wants to discuss where they slept anymore because the conversation easily flows back to Roman.

  “How in the hell are they going to judge us on, like, twenty minutes of a challenge?” Logan asks.

  Kari moves around to her normal spot near Raul and sits. “Maybe one of us identified the person that was going to attack Roman.”

  Heads teeter as we consider the possibility. Deep down, I feel like there’s a hell of a lot more going on than meets the eye.

  Dawson takes the note I pulled from inside my tux jacket and places it inside a Ziploc bag.

  “We’ll have someone dust it for prints right away, sir,” the police officer says before leaving my office.

  “Show’s over!” Dawson explodes. Clark, Esto, and JP turn to me, begging me to say something.

  “Hold on.” I offer, lifting a hand.

  “No! No way. I want everyone out of this house in the next hour,” Dawson shouts. I’ve never seen him so angry.

  Esto stands up so quickly, his chair falls back and hits the floor. “I know you’re upset, but now that we know who took the iPad, I think we also have a good idea of who might have slipped the note in Roman’s pocket. We’ll just get rid of the contestant and move on.”

  Dawson’s trying not to lose his shit. “What makes you think the person who wrote,”—he opens his phone to read from the picture he took—“‘You won’t get away with what you’ve done,’ is the same person who stole Roman’s iPad, and removed the SIM card? Are they also the same person who slipped honey into his drink and stole my gun?”